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Comparing fire-history interpretations based on area, number and estimated volume of macroscopic charcoal in lake sediments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Adam A. Ali ,
Philip E. Higuera ,
Yves Bergeron  and
Christopher Carcaillet
Adam A. Ali*
Affiliation:
Chaire industrielle CRSNG-UQAT-UQAM en aménagement forestier durable, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, 445 boul. de l'Université, Rouyn-Noranda (QC), Canada J9X 5E4
Philip E. Higuera
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, 200 Traphagen Hall, Montana State University Bozeman, MT 59717, USA Department of Forest Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-1133, USA
Yves Bergeron
Affiliation:
Chaire industrielle CRSNG-UQAT-UQAM en aménagement forestier durable, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, 445 boul. de l'Université, Rouyn-Noranda (QC), Canada J9X 5E4
Christopher Carcaillet
Affiliation:
Centre for Bio-Archeology and Ecology (UMR5059 CNRS), Université Montpellier 2, Institut de Botanique, 163 rue Auguste Broussonet, 34090, Montpellier, France Paleoenvironments and Chronoecology (PALECO-EPHE), Institut de Botanique, 163 rue Auguste Broussonet, 34090, Montpellier, France
*
⁎Corresponding author. Present-day address: Centre for Bio-Archeology and Ecology (UMR5059 CNRS), Université Montpellier 2, Institut de Botanique, 163 rue Auguste Broussonet, 34090, Montpellier, France. E-mail address:ali@univ-montp2.fr (A.A. Ali).
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Abstract

Sedimentary charcoal particles from lakes are commonly used to investigate fire history. Fire-history reconstructions are based on measuring the surface area or counting the number of charcoal fragments in adjacent samples. Recently, the volume of charcoal particles was advised as a more accurate method for quantifying past charcoal production. Large charcoal datasets, used to synthesize global fire history, include these different types of charcoal measurements and implicitly assume that they provide comparable fire-history information. However, no study has demonstrated that this assumption is valid. Here we compare fire-frequency reconstructions based on measurements of charcoal area and number, and estimates of charcoal volume from two lake sediment records from the eastern Canadian boreal forest. Results indicate that the three proxies provide comparable fire-history interpretations when using a locally defined threshold to identify fire events.

Keywords

Charcoal analysisCharcoal particlesFire historyFire frequencyBoreal forestHoloceneLocally defined threshold
Type
Short Paper
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 72 , Issue 3 , November 2009 , pp. 462 - 468
Copyright
University of Washington

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